Square Enix Re-Reveals Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 27 May 2026 / 2,965 Views
Square Enix has re-announced Dragon Quest XII. The subtitle has been changed from Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate to Dragon Quest XII: Beyond Dreams.
The original version of the game had a lot of issues and after talking with Dragon Quest series creator Yuki Horii the team decided to start development over from scratch.
"We’re hard at work on XII, but due to a reshuffle of the team and a restart of development, it’s going to be a bit longer till it’s in your hands," explained executive producer Yosuke Saito. "Work on the original version, Dragon Quest XII: The Flames of Fate, hit a lot of hurdles along the way. But as we kept talking with Mr. Horii and pined down what a mainline Dragon Quest game should look like, we decided to move things around and start over from scratch.
"It was a major decision, but I believe it was the right one to ensure the next Dragon Quest game will be the one that all you fans of the series will really love. As part of this new direction, we’ve also changed the game’s logo and subtitle."
Dragon Quest series creator and game designer Yuji Horii added, "It’s the story of a young hero who’s beset by strange visions in their sleep. What lies beyond dreams? Surely not a world of darkness, but a bright and exciting future. The game has gone in a different direction to the one we originally announced, but I think you’re going to love it."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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It's Beautiful.... so beautiful.
So they ditched the darker tone of the originally announced DQXII
Looks amazing, but I bet it is no longer turn based.
I better stay Turn based!
Was extremely put off by their previous talk about making something not for DQ fans... so happy to see this change in direction.
Not liking the main character design at all, however.
Not gonna lie, It looks a little rough at the moment.
It explains why it's taking so long. Mixed feelings about it to be fair, as I was curious by their older presentation
Hmmm could it be action adventure considering you run around alone with NPC's/party members on the way that you meet and maybe can fight with you? I loved DQXI. But I like the idea of more an action RPG aswell so long it is done well.
Art style no longer resembles Toriyama-san design. MC eyes look too small and he looks tired 😴 The iconic eyes from Dragon Ball era are no longer there. Otherwise looks nice. I hope the performance won't be bad with UE5.
Give the MC some rest, he cant sleep cause of nightmares xD
Makes me wonder if the story behind "start over from scratch" is similar to the scrapping of the original Wizardry 8.
Sux, was hoping it would have released before gta6..
Ah damn, I was really excited by the vibe originally teased.
A shame they got cold feet. I wonder if FF16 underperforming had anything to do with it. It looks good but I feel like they can try a bit harder to bring the rendering style towards the 2D artwork. Ni No Kuni 2 really nailed translating the 2D artwork into a 3D rendered world
